Carter Grant's Great Plan, or AKA, Barry Allen Takes it Differently
by wixley-kryptonese
Summary: Canon: Barry convinced Kara to go after James. Not Canon: Barry thinks that Kara and Cat are together, and Carter thinks they're perfect for each other so recruits Winn to help him trap them together in an elevator./ Part of The Extraordinary Match-Making Abilities of Carter Grant series
1. TEN

"-which is your alien name. Because you're an alien, which I think is _very_ cool." Barry grinned, Kara laughing. He hummed, before motioning back towards National City. "And good job getting the girl, too."

Kara made a confused face, though kept her happy smile, "The girl?"

Barry nodded, "Yeah – that blonde lady. She's a keeper. Good on you." He put his fist out for a fist-bump, which Kara very slowly gave.

"…do you mean Miss Grant?"

"Is that her name?" Barry questioned, "So if you two got married, you'd be Kara Grant? But wait – your actual alien name is Kara Zor-El, so, like, do you have different _naming_ traditions or-"

"Barry, slow down," Kara put up her hands, "I am _not_ in a relationship with Cat Grant."

Barry shook his head, "I get it, you'll get in trouble – she's your boss, after all." Kara spluttered, before he waved her off, "Come on. Time to speed things up." He got ready to race, and – still baffled – Kara came up beside him, readying herself.

"On your marks…"

"Get set-"

"Go!"

* * *

 ** _Ten._**

Carter didn't trust easily, so in other words, Kara was brilliant. She was nice, and friendly, and pretty, and was so obviously in love with his mom, but yet didn't have a clue. Carter was sure that his mom loved Kara back just as much, if not more, from what he could tell, but getting them _together_ was another matter entirely.

So, he went to the only person he knew that knew them _both_ : Winn.

Winn, once he'd been told what was going on, seemed pretty confused. Carter explained again, but apparently that wasn't it. " _There is no way that Miss Grant and Kara are- are in_ _ **love**_ _with each other! It's…it's…impossible…?_ " And yes, Carter had heard the questioning lilt to his words, and using his inborn Grant-ness, Winn was quickly convinced, if not recruited, to his plan.

"So what do you want to do?" Winn asked. Carter pursed his lips.

"Locking them in a room together could work. It's a cliché, but if-"

"It won't work," Winn interrupted, shaking his head, stuttering slightly as he spoke, "Kara- Kara would get them both out. She- she takes kickboxing classes. She'd kick down the door, and they're pretty flimsy." Carter's nose scrunched up, wondering what was wrong with him before he spoke again.

"The elevator, then. We can sabotage the phone, steal my mom's mobile, and Kara's mobile, and stop the elevator between floors. You're good with computers, you can do it. They're separate from the normal lift controls, I think."

"Are you sure about this?" Winn questioned, looking around nervously. Carter nodded.

"Can you do your part?"

"Uh, yeah, I can, but Kara doesn't go into your mom's elevator for no reason." Winn looked around again, pausing, "Hey Carter, if I told you that your mom was approaching right now, would we be able to continue our conversation later?"

Carter's eyes widened, before he spun to see his mother approaching as Winn said he was, coffee in hand. She frowned at the sight of him.

"Why aren't you in school?"


	2. NINE

**_Nine._**

"Carter Grant, what you doing here?" James greeted the boy in confusion, who bit his lip and looked away as he entered the room in front of Winn, who shut the office door and locked it. James raised an eyebrow, before standing from his place on the sofa. "What's the matter? Are you hiding from someone?"

Winn grimaced, before going over to sit at his computers, "Carter here wants to set his mom up with Kara, and has asked for my help."

"We're keeping you in here with us because we don't want you to ruin the plan," Carter said quietly, not looking at him as the photographer guwaffed.

" _Carter_ doesn't want you to ruin the plan," Winn corrected, eyes glued to the screens as he typed away, "because I mentioned that you're in love with Kara too, and we- _he_ , doesn't need you intervening."

"Are you even hearing yourselves?" James asked, staring, "You want to set _Kara_ up with _Miss_ _ **Grant?**_ Are you _insane?_ She could get fired, or worse!"

Winn snorted, before speaking in a dramatic voice, pointing at him, making eye-contact, "Jealousy, thy calls itself Olsen, _again_. Come here." James stepped back, making Winn roll his eyes. "Olsen, James, Jimmy-boy – I swear I'm not going to hurt you. I just need you to come over." He went silent, and James debated, highly suspicious, but Winn was Winn – he'd never do anything to hurt anyone. So James came over-

-and immediately regretted it as Winn deftly took off his watch and threw it to Carter, who stuffed it in his pocket. James looked at him, knowing her couldn't touch him unless he wanted Cat on his ass. James glared at Winn, who smirked slightly.

"A piece of advice – never trust the quiet ones." He shook his head before grinning, going back to his computers as James fumed, stalking over to the sofa and sitting down again. "Hey Carter, when do you want to start Phase One, Part Two?"


	3. EIGHT

**_Eight._**

Lucy frowned, turning away from the other DEO agents, "You want me to _what?_ "

" _Just- just say you need to put a chip in it, like, it's this withheld DEO technology that'll help out when she's on duty or something,_ " Winn pleaded, sounding hurried, " _Look, I'm watching the channels, and I know she's coming back soon – just, please Lucy, I'll owe you a favour. I promise to explain later, during Phase Two._ "

Lucy breathed in, holding her breath for a few seconds before releasing, wondering what 'Phase Two' was supposed to be. "Fine. But you owe me, toy-boy." Hanging up, she slipped her cell back into her pocket, looking up as Kara entered through the yet-to-be-repaired-on-purpose-so-they-could-fit-in-a-Supergirl-tube hole. "Supergirl, hey."

Kara smiled widely, "Hey Lucy." She looked to Vasquez, "Got anything else for me today? I've gotta head back to CatCo." Vasquez shook her head. "Great, right, I'll just be going-" She went to leave, and Lucy put up her hand quickly.

"Wait, I need your cell." Kara made a face.

"Why?"

Lucy glanced at Vasquez, "Didn't you tell her about the new chip?" Vasquez paused, before Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, uh, no, I didn't."

"What chip?" Kara questioned. Lucy shrugged.

"Just something we rediscovered during the investigation – it would go in your cell so we can better communicate when you're out of range, like a signal booster, direct to the DEO."

Kara nodded, "Okay. Just give me a sec," she brought her knee up, looking down as she reached her arm around and down to the heel of her red boot, unlocking a compartment and sliding out her thin smartphone. After she'd handed it over and closed her boot compartment, she motioned to it, "How long until it's installed?"

Lucy shrugged, "Come around tomorrow morning before work. It'll be in by then." Kara nodded again before waving. Lucy waved back, before Kara sped up and out of the base. Vasquez waited a few more seconds before speaking.

"There is no chip."

"Don't worry about it," Lucy assured, "there's nothing wrong." _I don't think_.


	4. SEVEN

**_Seven._**

Kara frowned as Miss Grant walked towards the elevator, the doors not opening.

"What is wrong with my elevator? Computer droid, what is wrong with-" Cat turned to Winn's desk, but as Kara knew, he wasn't there. "Keira, where is my IT boy?"

"I don't know, Miss Grant," she looked around, taking a second to use her x-ray vision, and found him in the Supersquad room, playing on the computers with…was that _Carter?_ "Uh, I'm sure he'll turn up."

Cat pursed her lips, "Keira, I need to get home, and I cannot go in those monstrosities across the plaza – it's simply cannot happen. I will not be seen among the rabble." Kara's lip twitched without her permission, which Cat immediately caught onto. "Something funny, Keira?"

"No, Miss Grant," Kara shook her head, before coming over to the elevator control panel, peering at it, trying to see if something was wrong. Upon seeing, using her x-ray vision again, that there was something inside the wiring, she reached up, easily prying the panelling off to reveal the insides, where a bleeping mechanism sat. "This isn't part of the lift controls," she said quietly, Cat immediately making a noise of discontent.

"What will it do? Make it stop between floors? Explode?" Kara didn't answer, not knowing. Placing the panelling on the ground, leaning over to do so, Kara noted once again how Winn was at the computers – yet wasn't calling her for any Supergirl business. Her eyes narrowed. _Has he got something to do with this?_ But no, it was Winn – he wouldn't endanger Miss Grant.

Would he?

"Call the police department, Keira, I want to know who has sabotaged my elevator," Cat said sharply, before looking over to the public elevators. "Then accompany me downstairs using the… _public elevator_." She sounded disgusted. "Chop chop, Keira."

Kara nodded, reaching for her cell only to remember she'd given it to Lucy. "Uh…" she went over to her desk, where her work phone sat. Calling the police department took little time, and then she was accompanying Cat to the public elevator, who cleared one completely before getting inside.

"Well come on in, Keira," Cat said irritably, prompting Kara to get inside, the doors shutting behind her. "Now, when we get to the ground floor, you'll accompany me to the door then wait for the police to ar-" All of a sudden, the elevator stopped, the lights all going off. Cat jumped, reaching for a bar to hold onto.

"What happened? Has the elevator broken down? I knew I shouldn't have stepped foot in one of these civilian death-traps."

Kara, who could easily see in the pitch black, put a hand on Cat's wrist lightly, knowing she was scared of elevators since the incident with Livewire. "Miss Grant, we're going to be fine. Do you have your cell phone?"

"Yes," Cat breathed, before fumbling for her pocket, pausing at finding nothing, "No. I do not. Have I been pickpocketed?" Kara frowned, before looking up to her office, trying to find it – which she did.

"Didn't you leave it under Carter's jacket?"

Cat growled, "No. I didn't leave it anywhere. And why would you guess Carter's jacket, of all things?"

"I- I don't know, maybe I saw it? It just came to mind…" Kara swallowed, before searching her pockets with her free hand. Nothing. Not a single cent. Kara bit her lip. "Miss Grant, I think we're going to have to wait for someone to rescue us."

Cat grimaced, "Great. Trapped in an elevator on the day Carter decides to go home from school early. At least the company isn't half-bad." And despite the circumstances, Kara couldn't help but smile at the compliment.

"Thank-you, Miss Grant."

"Don't let it get to your head."


	5. SIX

**_Six._**

Carter smiled at the security feed on Winn's screen, seeing his mom and Kara sitting on Kara's jumper in the elevator. They'd been in there for half an hour now, sitting in the dark. Because the lights were off, his mom couldn't see the arms of Kara's supersuit – but Carter could, and suddenly his mission became even more important, because if there was one thing he knew for certain about his mother, it was that she had a crush on Supergirl, just like him. The icing on the cake was the fact that his mom was in love with Kara, too. It was _perfect._

"How we doing, buddy?" Winn asked. Carter smiled.

"Good. They're sitting down now. Did you head off the police and the elevator mechanics?"

"Done and done – I explained the device in the control panel as a way for me to remotely hijack the elevator in the event that someone like Livewire takes control, which is actually true, and I've sent an email to maintenance saying Miss Grant said to leave it later tonight, after no-one's using them all, in case someone gets stuck inside." Winn grinned, Carter grinning back before looking back to the camera feed.

Behind them, James felt a buzzing in his pocket. Glancing at them, he took his cell out of his pocket, looking at the screen.

 **LUCY: Can you tell me what Winn's up to?**

James put his phone on absolute silent before sneakily crossing his legs, hiding his phone from view, texting her back.

 **JAMES: He and Miss Grant's son, Carter, are trapping Kara in an elevator with Miss Grant in an attempt to set them up. They're been stuck in one for half an hour now.** Patiently, he waited for Lucy's reply – but was shocked and a tiny bit hurt at her reply.

 **LUCY: Is that it? Winn could have just said.** A few seconds later, Winn's phone started ringing. He answered it, putting it to his ear.

"Lucy?" He paused, glancing at James. "Oh, yeah, uh- wait, what?" There were another few seconds of silence as Lucy spoke, and then a smile flashed on Winn's face. "Sure. Though there's not much to do – just make sure Supergirl isn't needed any time soon." Pause. Winn rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll phone you if they make out. Bye." He took the cell from his ear, hanging up before looking to Carter. "That was Lucy. She wants to help."

Carter motioned to the screen, "There isn't much more to do. We've just got to wait them out."

Winn nodded, "Yeah." James made a noise of discontent.

"You can't keep them in there forever, you know."

"We know," Winn replied, "Kara'll need food soon. She hasn't had anything since lunch."

"How much does Kara eat?" Carter questioned.

"Over twenty-thousand calories is apparently what she _should_ be eating, but she's been trying to cut back recently, what with her apartment rent going up. She spends a lot of money on food."

"Cool – no wonder she ate like, six pizzas in one sitting last time she babysat me."


	6. FIVE

**_Five._**

"When are we going to be rescued?" Cat sighed, "Honestly, I employee people who are good at their jobs – and this is supposed to be good? I should reconsider my standards."

Kara hummed, "Or, maybe they're just making sure things are safe. A lot of things can go wrong in something like this. We'll probably end up being carried up the shaft to the next floor."

"We can get out?" Cat questioned, only for Kara to shake her head. In the dim light that came from the bundle of neon glow-sticks Cat kept in her handbag for 'emergency purposes', Cat could see her, if only faintly. "Why?"

"Not tall enough – and the emergency hatch is difficult to open in this elevator. It's why people don't ride it – there were a few weeks when no-one was allowed to, and it carried over even though Health and Safety said it was okay." She pointed up. "Magnetic locks keep it shut. Power outages are the only thing that shut it off."

"But the lights are off," Cat said in a frustrated tone.

"Different circuit," Kara replied, voice forlorn. "I don't know why the lift would stop – it worked perfectly before." Then an idea – a terrible, confusing idea struck her. "Someone trapped us in here."

"What?"

Kara looked to Cat, eyes wide, "They stopped you from going in your elevator, and now we're in a broken-down elevator."

"Oh… _oh dear_ , Keira, you are proving very insightful today. Who might want to trap us in an elevator?" And that was when the lights came on, and a very familiar voice came through the elevator speakers.

" _Me. And until you properly talk, you aren't getting out,_ " Carter explained in a mischievous tone. Cat immediately got to her feet, furious.

"Carter Grant! What the hell do you think you are doing, young man?"

" _Actually_ ," Winn's voice came through, " _it's technically me, but he blackmailed me._ "

" _Did not_."

" _Did too_."

"Enough," Cat glared at the security camera as Kara stood, brushing off her cardigan as she picked it up off the floor. "Computer droid, if you do not let us out you are _fired_."

" _I'm sorry, Miss Grant, but right now, I'm actually in agreement with Carter – and by the way, he's so much like you its freaky. He's got your sarcasm down to a pat._ "

Cat rolled her eyes, "Well he is _my_ son. And I am not joking, I will _fire you_."

" _Not by the end of this,_ " Carter chirped, " _Turn around_."

Cat's brow furrowed and Kara's eyes widened, before the Queen of All Media turned and saw her right as she went to put her cardigan back on over her supersuit. Kara froze, watching as Cat looked her up and down, pursing her lips before turning back to the camera.

"Carter, you're more than grounded after we get out of here. Kara's secret was hers to tell. You did not have that right."

" _Sorry mom, but you both need to stop keeping secrets – I didn't even know Kara was Supergirl until she took off her jumper. I trapped you together so you could both talk – talk about stuff I'm not going to listen to, 'cause it would be gross._ "

Cat's face screwed up, "What-" But she stopped, before her tense posture slipped, shoulders dropping. "Carter, let us out."

" _No_." He replied simply, before there was an audible click, no more speech coming through. Cat tensed again, before turning to face Kara.

"I'm sorry he did that," she said sincerely. Kara looked down, shifting awkwardly.

"You weren't fooled by J'onn."

"I was stumped," Cat corrected, "for I had no idea whether it was another power of Supergirl, or a different person completely. Then came the few days before I hired Siobhan. That imposter gave me whole milk in my coffee."

Kara made a face, "Oh Rao, no wonder you hired her. How terrible was it?"

Cat grimaced, "Worse than the time when Honey Boo-Boo's mother came to my office and said she was here for an interview. It was embarrassing, Keira, absolutely dreadful." Kara shut her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose under her glasses. "You said their name was J'onn? I'll presume they're a shapeshifter."

"J'onn J'onzz. He's the Martian that stopped me after the Red Kryptonite incident."

"Red Kryptonite? Is that why you were acting out of character, then?" Kara nodded and Cat raised her chin. "Interesting. Can you tell me more?"

But Kara shook her head. "What did Carter mean that we'd talk about gross things?" The change of subject caused Cat's face to become guarded before she stated, quite bluntly, what her son thought.

"Carter is under the delusion that I am in love with you, as all bosses and assistants are," Kara choked, before replying in a high-pitched voice.

"Oh? So it's not true then?"

"Why would it be?" Cat questioned with a raised eyebrow, heart pounding, before she probed, "And why would you ask?" Kara blushed, shaking her head before finally putting her jumper back on. Cat's lips twisted into a grimace again, before she came forward and brushed some dust off her shoulder, turning her slightly to see her back with a wince. "No, stop, take it off."

"But my suit-"

"Then take it off too. Put it in my handbag. That cardigan is atrociously marred by the dirt in this stuffy compartment. You will dispose of it upon our exit." She ordered, Kara sending her a short, wide-eyed look.

"But it's my favourite."

"Then why did you let us sit on it?" Unexpectedly, Kara blushed, causing Cat to stop for a second, wondering, before she motioned to her. "What are you waiting for?"

Kara shuffled back, "Usually I'm just taking off my outer clothes when I change. I- I usually have to use a mirror to take off my suit. The zipper's around my waist, around the back under my belt – it connects the top from the bottom – and I can never find it blind."

"So you _can't_ take it off?"

Kara flushed darker, squeaking, "No, I- I just need help, because I don't have a mirror." Cat's eyebrows rose exponentially.

"Oh, do you? That is certainly…unexpected." Kara's cheeks continued to stay pink, before Cat unceremoniously turned her, causing her to squeak again as she searched for the zipper. Upon finding it though, Cat slowed, halting – because the zipper was lower than expected. "Are you wearing anything under this?" Kara squirmed, not answering, and Cat took that for a negative. She could feel herself heating up, and stood straighter in her heels – her painful ones that made her five inches taller – before unzipping her slowly.

Kara stayed stock still, even when her nails dragged lightly across bare flesh.

After she is done with the back part though, Cat doesn't step away, only continuing despite Kara's quiet murmur of, "I can do the rest." She comes around her front, unzipping the skirt from the shirt, and when she _is_ finished, she looks up to Kara's eyes. She expects embarrassment. Not blown-wide pupils, features struggling to stay straight. Not Kara staring at her like she'd put the sun in the sky.

Wanting to stay close, yet knowing she had to stay far, far away from her perfect assistant, Cat put her hand up to adjust her collar, which is crooked.

"So are you going to change, then?"


	7. FOUR

**_Four._**

When Carter greets his mother, he grins.

When Cat greets her son, she just stares.

"How did you know I had feelings for Kara?"

Carter came forward, hugging her tightly, before whispering in her ear, "Because you trusted me with her, and you don't even trust yourself." He pulled away, taking one of her hands. "So, will she be coming around more often?"

Cat looked over to where her assistant usually sat, knowing Kara was far away by now. She'd been watching Kara for years, and knew everything she could discover by doing so. She knew how Kara liked her coffee, and how her largest drawer was full to the brim with snacks that she devoured throughout the day, and would fill up the next morning if she wasn't straggling. She knew that she used her thumbs regularly while typing and her ring fingers on the mousepad, and that because of it her hands only curled inwards when she was moving her mouse. She knew that she hated her chair, that it dug into her back while she sat back, but didn't get a new one because the pressure helped her think. Thinking on that made Cat realise with annoyance that she probably didn't get back pain at all, due to her nature as an alien.

"Mom?"

"We'll see," Cat murmured, before pulling Carter towards her elevator. "Let's go home."


	8. THREE

**_Three._**

Kara didn't know what to do with herself after the elevator. So, to combat the foreboding, frantic beats of her heart when she thought of Cat, Kara ordered as much take-out as she could – pizza, Chinese, Thai, Indian, anything and everything was ordered. And then she raided the freezer in the complex basement, where she kept her two-dozen tubs of ice-cream.

Her neighbours asked her if she was having a party.

By the time midnight rolled around, her apartment was a mess, and her stomach for once was bulging. Half a tub of green tea curry sat on the coffee table, beside a melted tub of peanut-butter ice-cream. Homeland played on the television, but Kara wasn't watching – Alex would hate her if she did, anyway, so it didn't matter.

Kara picked up her phone which she'd retrieved from Lucy, scrolling through her contacts slowly, wanting so badly to call her sister, but knew it wouldn't pick up. Winn and James were both out, too, and Lucy – they were either compromised by Carter, or in love with her. It was strange how Winn fell under both categories. She continued scrolling, eventually coming to **_ELIZA_**. She debated. Then she decided to just call, ending up dialling four times before she picked up.

" _Kara? Why are you phoning so early?_ " Kara winced at the sound of her foster-mother's tired voice and looked at the time, wincing again. It was half four in the morning for Eliza.

"Sorry, just…"

" _What happened?_ "

"I got trapped in an elevator with Cat, because Carter thinks we're in love."

" _Who's Carter?_ " Eliza questioned.

"That's what you took from it?" Kara looked to the ceiling. "Carter's her twelve and a half year old son. He blackmailed Winn and didn't let James warn me. And then got Lucy to steal my phone, and hid his mothers, so we couldn't phone for help. I didn't use my superpowers to get us out because people would ask Supergirl where I was, and I didn't want to break the elevator escape hatch."

" _I'm going to have a grandson, then?_ "

Kara choked, "What? No- I don't think so? I'm confused about it all, and I really like Cat too, but-"

" _So she likes you?_ "

"She's my _boss_ ," Kara whispered, voice full with fear. "Eliza, what if something went wrong? What- what if someone found out? No-one would ever hire me again!"

" _Don't worry about that,_ " Eliza shushed her, " _Tell me what you like about her._ " But Kara stayed silent, not saying anything. " _Kara Danvers, you phoned me at four fifty-three am, I deserve to know why._ "

Kara whimpered, "Everything. I love the way she always puts Carter first, and how she forgave me for throwing her off a balcony without a thought, and I love how she eats M&M's rather than drinks, and how she always knows what to say to me when I'm feeling terrible. She _knows_ me, Mom, better than I know myself, and I know _her_. I know she abhors hypocrites, and liars, and that she loves her sons more than anything else in the world, and that CatCo is nearly just as important."

" _Oh darling, you've got it bad. And she feels the same way?_ "

"No, I don't think so."

" _So yes, then. You were always terrible at picking up when people were coming onto you._ "

"Hey, not fair," Kara moaned, "It's _different_ on Krypton."

" _A piece of advice, Kara – this is Earth. You've been here nearly half your life. You know it's different from Krypton, but you also_ _ **know**_ _this difference. Now I want you to call your boss before you go to work, and ask if you can talk about matters outside your professional life. Ask her on a date or at least tell her your feelings. Screw your positions – I've seen Cat Grant on television, and I know you. Neither of you will let your relationship get in the way of matters within work, and you're only her assistant – you're not Editor, or working your way up the ranks. Unless she suddenly sends you away to a different department which you get put in charge of, then there's no reason for people to cry favouritism._ "

"Eliza…"

" _No. You_ _ **will**_ _call her. End of story. I'm tired and want to go back to sleep. Good night, Kara._ "

"Goodnight, Eliza," Kara hung up before throwing her phone across the couch.

No way was she asking Miss Grant out on a _date._


	9. TWO

**_Two._**

Clark adjusted his glasses as he entered the floor, walking over to see Kara at her desk working with a forced focus, but noticeably glancing at Miss Grant every few seconds. Miss Grant herself was studiously ignoring her. No wonder Carter wanted to get them together.

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt, you know," he said calmly, hands in his pockets. Kara's head jerked up, eyes going wide at the sight of them before a grin spread across her face.

"Kal-El!" She squealed, before getting up out of her desk and just about running to him, jumping up to hug him. Clark caught her weight with ease, grinning and hugging her back, swinging her slightly.

"Hello Kara." He looked over to where Jimmy was coming over, "Jim."

"It's James, now," he smiled, coming over to clap him on the shoulder, "Good to see you, Clark." At a desk to their left, a short man suddenly gaped.

"Wait, Kal-El, Clark- oh my god, it's- uh, uh…Kara's cousin. Hi, Kara's cousin, Clark." Clark's lip twitched.

"You must be Winn." He said, before noticing Cat Grant standing in the doorway of her office. "And must I say Miss Grant, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Cat growled, "Clark Kent, Lois Lane's pet reporter. What are you doing here? And why is Kara hanging off you like a limpet."

In sync, the two Kryptonians blushed, before Clark let go of her, Kara slipping off him to the ground, straightening her shirt and trousers.

"What _are_ you doing here?" Kara questioned, still looking happy, jumping slightly where she stood. Clark had to conceal his smile at her adorableness – he'd have grown up very differently if Kara had raised him, and he might have missed this, seeing her from an adult point of view. But the questions were valid. He glanced at James, who suddenly stopped smiling, glancing at Kara.

"James here gave me a call – also, you spent over six hundred dollars solely on food a couple nights ago out of our shared account from Aunt Eliza." Kara's cheeks pinked, Cat Grant's eyebrow rising.

"I had a party," she squeaked, Clark giving a toothy smile before leaning in, stage-whispering.

"Don't worry about it. If you didn't notice already, I spent four hundred on waffles and syrup." Kara's eyes widened.

"Did you leave any for me?"

Clark raised a single eyebrow. Kara wilted.

"Of course you didn't," she muttered, before Cat spoke up again.

"What did Oswald call you about?"

Clark sobered, glancing between them, "Apparently your son locked him in a room and stole his watch. When I heard the rest of the story though, I was a bit worried for Kara rather than him. And after judging from our account balance, I decided to pay a visit to my favourite baby cousin."

Kara straightened, "Uh, no – _you're_ the baby here, Kal-El. I changed your diapers when I was thirteen," her eyes narrowed, and if they had been in private, Clark might have been amused.

However.

"Thirteen? Somehow I doubt that," Cat Grant narrowed her eyes at him, "I went to college with Lois, she'd never pick up someone fresh out of school."

Clark smirked, "You're assuming that _I'm_ the one younger than I look. Kara's closer to your age than she is mine, Miss Grant- ow!" He pouted at Kara as he rubbed his arm where she'd pinched him.

"Stop talking."

"You're the one who said it first," he wisely intoned, before she hit him again, "Ow. Stop that."

"I'll stop that when you stop talking."

"We'll be here an awfully long time then," Clark grinned, before Cat made a noise of annoyance.

"Kara, take your cousin away from here – take the rest of the day off, even, just make sure he isn't in here. Lois probably put a bug somewhere on that flannel shirt to hear our conversation," she made a shooing motion to Clark, who grinned and tipped his imaginary hat.

"Ma'am," he looked to Kara, turning around. Kara giggled before jumping onto his back, arms going around his neck. Which was when they found themselves looking at a young boy that Clark immediately identified as Carter Grant, by looking through his school bag to the pencilled name on a calculus notebook.

"Kara?"

Kara beamed, "Carter! Meet my cousin, Clark! Clark, this is Carter, Miss Grant's son." Clark brought up a hand to tip his non-existent hat again, smiling softly.

"Nice to meet you, Carter. If you'll excuse us, we have a date with ice-cream and Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

"No we don't! I refuse to watch that show!" Kara shook her head, "X-Files or nothing, Kal-El."

Clark rolled his eyes, before starting to walk towards the elevators. "Fine." He knew they wouldn't be watching anything.

It was time to talk to his cousin about her love-life.


	10. ONE

**_One._**

When Myriad is activated, Kara finds only two humans in the entire city not under its control – Maxwell Lord and Cat Grant.

Carter is somewhere in the rabble, and Cat doesn't know where he is, and is outwardly more angry than anything, though maybe that's for her benefit because Maxwell Lord is constantly trying to undermine her. Kara doesn't know what Myriad is going to make the people of National City do to each other, but she knows that its implementation was one of the last things Astra did before her death.

When she eventually does defeat Non and Myriad, with her uncle dead at her feet, Kara discovers she's blown out her powers, and not in a good way. The people of National City surround her as she bleeds and does not heal, and then she it on her knees, and then her side, because her hip is dislocated and it burns and feels wrong and is tight in all the wrong places.

"Help me," she croaks, and then people are rushing forwards, someone bringing a gurney to put her on. She lets out a wretched whimper at the movement, but lets them as more medical professionals come over, unable to get ambulances or other help. A hoard of first-aid kits are brought over, and they have to use scissors on her suit to get to the deep cuts and gashes and burns, and she lets out something of a scream, but is more a sharp, tearing cry that travels through the wind because _she has never felt pain like that_. She has no tolerance to anything past scrapes and bruises from her early childhood, can't process pain the same way anymore.

Someone ties her hair up out of the way.

Someone takes a picture.

Less than a week later, Kara Danvers is labelled Supergirl, and she hides out in the DEO until she gets her powers back, wincing at the texts she gets from Cat asking where the hell her assistant was despite it all. When she goes back to CatCo, using super-speed to avoid the fans and general populace, and the stairs at CatCo instead of the elevator, people in the office look at her in awe and she is brought to tears as people thank her for saving their lives, and for being the amazing person she is, over and over and over again.

Then Cat calls her into her office.

"So, _Keira_ , where the hell have _you_ been? Because I've been trying to coordinate one of the biggest story's in media history and-" And Kara can't help it, because after it all, after all of this _mess_ , she is still Cat Grant, still Cat, and she is treating her like nothing is wrong, like nothing has happened, like Kara's just her assistant and is only a daisy in a field of flowers rather than Supergirl and everything humanity looks to.

She kisses her, and _Cat kisses back._

"Don't let this get to your head," is what Cat whispers when they part. "You're still my assistant, _Keira._ "

And Kara laughs, "I know."

* * *

When Barry next came through for a visit alongside Thea Queen, and they made a tag-team with Kara to defeat an experiment gone wrong that came through after them and got loose in National City. Once they were done, Kara invited them home.

"Pizza?" Barry questioned, but to his disappointment, Kara shook her head.

"Sorry, but pizza got banned after I left thirty pizza-boxes out on the countertops while we were away for the weekend three years ago and stunk up out entire penthouse."

"Penthouse?" Thea questioned with a raise of her eyebrow, Barry suddenly grinning.

"Oh, so you're finally admitting it – and you moved in!"

Kara rolled her eyes before coming over to Thea, "Here, I'll fly you." Thea nodded, before letting her take her into her arms. "Barry, wanna follow behind me?"

"Sure," he nodded, before pulling on his mask. Kara shot up into the air, making sure to slow down so Thea didn't get windburn, but Thea seemed to have a handle on it, covering her face with her large hood. Flying to Cat's apartment balcony, she greeted the awaiting Carter with a tight hug and a kiss on his hair before grinning at the toddling Lara behind him, swinging the two year old up into her arms.

"How's my baby girl, huh?" She rubbed their noses together, causing her to giggle. Thea stared, eyebrow raised.

"You have a kid?"

"Three," Carter corrected, "technically four, but Adam's like, only ten years younger than her, so three. I'm Carter, Carter Grant. Who are you?" He questioned, not even looking at Barry, who had sped up the side of the building to join them.

"Thea Queen, otherwise known as Speedy," Thea introduced herself cautiously, glancing at Barry, to whom Kara was telling a story about being stuck in an elevator. Carter looked Thea up and down quickly, blushing slightly, hoping she hadn't noticed.

By the raised eyebrows and smirk, she had. Carter blushed darker, curling in on himself slightly, hands still at his sides as he reverted to behaviours that Kara had been helping him lose.

"What did you do now, Carter Cry-baby?" Came Astra's voice. Carter looked behind him to see his little sister – all six years of her – standing with her hands in fists on her hips, legs splayed. She looked just like her mother, red hair withstanding. She glared at Thea. "What did _you_ do? Only _I_ get to be mean to Carter."

"I didn't do anything," Thea defended herself, frowning. Kara looked over from where she stood with Barry.

"Astra Eliza Grant, don't be so protective over Carter – he's twenty-one, he can look after himself."

"Then why'd he come home for the weekend?" Astra narrowed her eyes, before crossing her arms. Kara looked to Barry, holding up little blonde Lara.

"Wanna hold her?"

Barry smiled widely, "You wanna bet? Come to Uncle Barry!" Kara giggled at the same time as Lara, making Barry's already impossibly-wide grin stretch further, before he took her reverently, holding her solidly yet gently against his chest.

Once seeing they were okay, Kara turned to the trio, coming over to crouch in front of Astra, who stared defiantly.

"Astra, I know you don't like it how your Mom is so happy to see Carter, and we're still paying a lot of attention to Lara because she's little, but you've got to be better than this. Taking your anger out on everyone you speak to isn't nice – it's really, really mean, and Carter isn't a cry-baby. Now _Lara_ – that's a cry-baby, and your cousin's Katie and Mickey."

"But they're _actual_ babies. Carter's twenty-one, he shouldn't be crying," Astra pointed out.

Thea chimed in, "She does have a point. It's odd for grown men to cry and for people to actually know about it, at least in my world."

Kara gave her a look, "Not helping, Thea." She looked back at Astra. "I've been talking to your mother recently about your behaviour. We'll be talking more tonight, with you there. Lara's going over to Aunty Alex's to have a sleepover with Mickey."

Astra glared, before stamping her foot, causing cracks to appear in the tile. Immediately her eyes widened, anger draining.

"Mama, I didn't mean to-"

"I know, I'm right here, I saw," but Kara sighed anyway, picking her daughter up and swinging her over her shoulders onto her back. "Everyone, get inside. Carter, your mom home?"

"Making lasagnes," he replied quietly as they walked into the penthouse, Kara not even bothering to drop Astra as she went over to the other side of the open-plan kitchen living dining room, kissing Cat on the cheek and sneakily stealing some remains of the cream sauce from the empty pan with a finger.

"I saw that – and that," she gave Astra a piercing glare as she licked her hand, which was covered in dregs of the white substance. "I see we have guests. I know who the _Blur_ is," she sent another glare over towards Barry, "and he had better not drop my daughter – but I don't know who _that_ is." She looked to Thea, before shooing Kara away, opening up the oven and steadily taking lasagne after lasagne out, until five steaming trays were on view.

"That's a lot of food," Thea muttered, "and I'm Thea Queen. I'm from Barry's universe, Starling City though, rather than Central City."

"Starling City, Central City, National City – it seems that average American's lack creativity in every universe," Cat replied drolly, before a shriek echoed through the penthouse, the front door slamming open.

"AUNTY CAT! DADDY SAID YOU WERE MEAN TO HIM! I DON'T BELIEVE HIM!" Thea and Barry turned to look at the small person who slid into the kitchen on their heels, pale skin colouring green even as they bounded up to hug Kara, who had stepped away from the cooker. "Hi Aunty Kara!"

"Hello Katie, where's your mom?"

"Mommy's right here," came Alex's dry voice as she entered, setting a baby-carrier on the end of the counter, far from the waiting food. She glanced at Barry and Thea in their superhero outfits, "Mr Allen, I've heard about you."

Barry paused, before looking between her and Kara, "Oh, oh – oh! You're Alex! I used your crime lab last time I was here!"

"That you did, and thanks for cleaning up afterwards," Alex nodded diplomatically, before looking to Thea, holding out a hand. "Alex Henshaw nee Danvers. I'm Kara's foster-sister."

Thea shook, "Thea Queen. How many more people are coming?"

"Just my partner – J'onn J'onzz, or Hank Henshaw. He's an alien in hiding, so things get mixed up."

Cat started to get plates out, "I hope you didn't make another hole in my wall, Kara T'ania J'onzz."

Katie shook her head rapidly, bouncing up and down, "Nope. Can I go and play with Astra now?" Kara let Astra down as Cat answered, holding out plates.

"No, you will set the table for nine, with the special high chair for Lara beside your mother."

The two groaned, but a sharp order from Alex to do as Cat said and to add another place for their Uncle Max had them hurrying about, using their alien powers to speed everything up until Kara told them to 'pretend to be human for one minute', despite Katie clearly being in her alien skin.

"I'd have never seen myself where I am now ten years ago," Cat murmured as Alex showed Barry and Thea baby Mickey, otherwise known as Maxime K'hym J'onzz, who slept soundly throughout the proceedings. Kara nodded, arms wrapping around her waist as Cat leant into her, shutting her eyes. "How old am I now?"

"Older than you were ten years ago, but just as beautiful," Kara said in reply, kissing her head. "A much better cook though." They stood there for a minute, before J'onn appeared with Max over his shoulder, grumbling as he was uncuffed. As the man greeted his pseudo-nieces, Cat pulled away, directing Kara to bring the lasagne to the table, setting them on hot-plates with their own serving utensils.

"Okay, humans get first choice," Cat said, before Kara pulled out her chair for her. "Thank-you, sweetheart."

"My pleasure," Kara leant over, capturing her lips in a tender kiss. Across the table, Astra and Katie made sounds of revulsion, calling them gross. Kara just smiled, before settling down for lasagne.

 _Thank Rao I never tried to start anything with James._


End file.
